The Last White Angel
by WinterLoveSong
Summary: My name is AvriellaReinix Lentali.  I am no Hume.  This is my story.  Bad summary, I know, but please R&R!  Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1: My Story

**A/N: Hello! I know I have billions of other stories in progress(none of them Final Fantasy XII), but I've had this story in my head ever since I started playing Final Fantasy XII. I'm not even done with the game yet! But I know what happens.**

**Chapter One **

**My Story**

My name is Avriella-Reinix Lentali.

I am no Hume.

What am I? You may guess Bangaa. It is doubtful you would guess Seeq—they're not the sharpest daggers in the weaponry.

Viera? Hm, I can see your train of thought. But Viera don't leave the Wood, now, do they? At least, most don't.

I have left home. Who knows if I'll go back? It is uncertain, as much of the future is.

No, I am of an old race, older than Ivalice, thought to be extinct. There is not much talk of this race.

I am an Angel.

I was one of the very first Angels to set foot on this world. In fact, I was the very first White Angel to be created.

White Angels are the rarest kind of Angel. They are the kind you normally think of, with pure, feathery white wings. No other white can compare.

There are other Angels, of course, the most frequent kinds being the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Angels. There are also Garnet, Sapphire, Emerald, Topaz, Ruby, Amethyst, and many other Angels that have wings the color of precious stones. Diamond and Crystal Angels have died out completely.

Diamond Angels used to be the most beloved of Angels, there being very few of them. Crystal Angels followed. Their wings were almost see-through, and glittered elegantly. Next down the line were White Angels, then Gold Angels, then Silver, then Bronze, then all the other Angels.

Angels can only be created by a Diamond or Crystal Angel. They alone held the power of creation. All of the Diamond and Crystal Angels died out in a huge war millions of years ago. It was one that I took part in. The Angels are a steadily dying race, since they cannot reproduce. However, they do have the advantage of immortality. When an Angel is created, the creator decides the age the Angel shall look and be forever. Angels cannot die of old age, and their bodies do not age. For example: I was created at the beginning of Time, before Ivalice. I was created with the body of a fourteen-year-old. I still look fourteen.

After all the Diamond and Crystal Angels died out, the Angels turned to White Angels. I was the last White Angel left. They worshipped me. It was like that for a few thousand years, until I met my first real friend: Felictia-Everanis Rosamio, a Gold Angel. Felictia was a kind Angel, who also had the body of a fourteen-year-old. We would be together all the time, sometimes sneak out of Heaven's Holder, which is the name of the last city of Angels.

Eventually, there was another war. A great leader, Nizera-Bhorjo Xisi, died in the war. A cunning evil Angel made it look as though I had killed wise Nizera. I was exiled from the city, and I decided to live on the ground. Many exiled Angels had taken refuge in Bhujerba, but I wanted to be away from my kind. I lived with nomads for a while, then on my own as a wanderer. Eventually, Felictia made contact with me, and told me that she had cleared my name, and wanted me to come home. That was almost fifty years ago. I stayed away, and a tragic thing happened to me. But that is not a story I will tell now.

After much traveling, I decided to stay in Dalmasca, and live in the royal city of Rabanastre. Nobody glanced at me twice. Angels have certain powers, and one is the ability to not attract attention. Another ability is to make their wings appear and disappear at will. I traditionally have a feather from one of my own wings strung on a necklace around my neck, as Angel tradition goes. Even with the pure white feather so clearly in view, so noticeable, nobody took any notice of me. I lived in peace for a great while.

Until the war with the Empire.

The Empire. It disgusted me, before Vayne Solidor was defeated. Now I doubt it will cause much trouble in the future.

I remember when I first saw Vayne Solidor from close up. I had seen him many times before, without him knowing.

And that is where my story starts.

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I stood in the hot and dusty street of Rabanastre, watching Solidor make his speech. As I heard his words, I felt the tension of Rabanastrans fading, and being replaced with growing respect.

"King Raminas loved his people. Strove to bring you peace. His was a rule worthy of your devotion . . . Even now, he remains among you, protecting you. His ardor for the peace and weal of Dalmasca falters not. I would ask only that you do your king honor. Together, let us embrace the peace, His Majesty would surely desire. Two years now divide us from war's bitter end, yet still its shadow looms over all, stifling the infant peace a pall only you may cast off. Achieve but this one thing and your hatred of me and the Empire will grieve me not. I will stand fast, I will endure your hatred, suffer your slings and arrows. I will defend Dalmasca! Here I will pay my debt! I swear it now! Though King Raminas and Lady Ashe be gone, they stand ever at the side of their people. In honoring their peace... you do honor to their memory, and to Dalmasca. What I ask, I ask plain. My hopes, now rest with you."

Vayne bowed to the people, and was greeted with roaring applause. I did no such thing. A curtain of my waist-length black hair covered my left eye, but still I stared at him with blazing emerald eyes. I glared at Solidor. Such bitter hatred spread through my whole body. I detested his voice, his clothes, his false speech. He would do whatever it takes to gain power. All he wanted now was the affection of Rabanastrans, and Dalmascans in general. Well, he would not win my affection.

He seemed to spot me. Angels cannot be spotted unless they want to be spotted or the person doing the spotting is going to have a great effect on their future. In this case, it was both. Vayne's lips curved into a taunting smirk at my hatred, seeming to say, "I'll get power, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He wanted a challenge? He would get it. He had no idea who he was messing with. I was Avriella-Reinix Lentali.

I was the last White Angel.

This is my story.

**A/N: I know, not much, but it gives you an idea about how Angels work. She'll meet Vaan in the next chapter, I promise. For now, REVIEW! PLEASE!**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


	2. Chapter 2: Glaring Matches

**Sorry it took so long to update, but I now present, Chapter Two!**

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**Chapter Two**

**Glaring Matches**

After the announcement, I vanished into Lowtown, away from the Rabanastrans who believed in Solidor's fake speech. Hume minds were so easily tricked, and Solidor knew exactly what the mind wanted to hear. But like I said before, I am no Hume. I could see right past his announcement.

The people in Lowtown were my kind of people--they hated the Empire as much as I did. Some like Solidor's speech, but most waved it aside.

I listened to the murmurings of the people around me and wondered if it were possible to get into the fete that night. I never really had been a part of the Resistance, but the fete sounded interesting enough. I wondered exactly what Vayne was planning.

Then, quite suddenly, someone bumped into me.

I was extremely surprised. The last time anyone had bumped into me was fifty years ago--and that changed my life forever. It was a boy, who looked seventeen at most. He probably thought I was some sort of child, looking fourteen and all.

"Sorry!" he called over his shoulder.

I was very bewildered. He actually took notice of me. The last person to do that was Vayne Solidor, but the person before him was someone I had...met fifty years ago.

I took instant interest. Quickly I made up my mind.

Tailing him was easy; all I had to do was keep my eyes on him. He seemed not to know he was being followed, but I wasn't doing a very good job of being stealthy--I was just trying to keep in him in sight.

Right before he went through the South Gate, he suddenly disappeared from my line of vision. Confused, I glanced around, searching for him, but unable to find him. Then someone placed a firm hand on my shoulder and steered me into a dark corner. It was the boy from earlier.

He glared at me. "Why were you following me?"

I crossed my arms stubbornly. Back at Heaven's Holder, I had a reputation for being stubborn, hot-headed, and defensive. "Who says I was following you?"

"I caught sight of you a couple of times."

"Maybe I was just going in the same direction as you."

"You were following pretty close behind me."

"Prove it."

We exchanged glowers. Then he held up his hands in defeat. "Whatever," he said dismissively. "You're just a kid, anyway."

That got my temper up. "Apparantly, I'm better than you at arguments, and 'just a kid' would never stand up to a seventeen-year-old," I hissed.

He turned around, confused. "How do you know I'm seventeen?"

"Lucky guess," I muttered, avoiding his gaze.

"Kid, you've got some temper."

"It's not like you don't have anger management problems, either."

Once again, there was a blazing staring match. This time, he refused to back down. I felt heat in my eyes, and knew my eyes were changing color. When an Angel's emotions, if they have any, get hyped up, transformation to Angel form begins. The first thing to change is your eyes. An Angel's eyes normally match the color of their wings, except White Angels; they had pitch-black eyes. I began to feel a tingling in my upper-back area, and I began to panic. _Not the wings,_ I moaned silently.

But the boy had backed off, staring at me like I was some kind of bizarre creature. "Your eyes...they..."

The heat was gone, and my eyes were back to normal green. The tingling in my back was gone, too. "My eyes what?" I asked innocently, my anger fading.

He shook his head. "Maybe I'm seeing things..." he mumbled to himself.

"So, while we're in this dark place, why don't we get to know each other?" I said dryly.

"Oh, right. My name's Vaan. Yours?"

"It's Rei." I had come in habit not to expose my real name, so I often went with the name Rei, because it was part of my middle name. (Avriella-**Rei**nix Lentali)

Vaan held out his hand for me to shake. I took it hesitantly. We let go rather quickly.

"Right," said Vaan. "Well, I'd better get going..."

"Where are you going, anyway?" I asked curiously before my brain could catch up with my actions.

Vaan sort of half-grinned. "You were following me, weren't you?"

I shrugged. "I guess," I muttered.

"Why?"

"Answer my question first." The statement came out more like a demand.

He sighed. "Um, Giza Plains. It's no place for a kid like yourself."

"Call me kid again, and you'll see just how well I can manage," I threatened, fingering the dagger I had sheathed on my belt. The dagger's handle was pure gold, encrusted with opals, and the blade was made out of diamond. I prided myself in being skilled with the dagger--hundreds of years of looking out for myself had rubbed off on me.

Vaan saw where my hand was, and the gold caught his eye. _Thief,_ I thought mutinously. I hated thieves, especially sky pirates. Angels were a wealthy race, so I had a golden bangle on my right wrist, diamond earrings in the shape of the cross, and clothes made of silk. My shirt was a white halter top that exposed the top half of my back, and I was wearing black silk pants. My shoes were entirely unremarkable, but they were comfortable--wooden sandals.

Vaan suddenly seemed a lot keener to be with me. I glared at him, knowing what he was thinking. "Don't even think about stealing anything."

His expression turned sheepish. "Right, right, sorry."

"So...why are you going to Giza Plains?"

"Tell me why you were following me first."

Damn, he was using me own tactics against me. "Fine," I huffed. "You bumped into me."

His eyebrows rose. "That's it?"

"I was afraid you stole something," I lied.

"Oh."

"So now answer my question."

"I dunno..." Vaan looked at me uneasily. "I don't know if I trust you yet."

"Fine, I'll find out for myself," I vowed.

"Why is it that important?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I say so."

"That's not a good answer."

"I don't have to tell you."

"I don't have to tell you why I'm going to Giza Plains."

"Then I'll just follow you the whole way and find out myself."

Another glaring match passed. "Okay, fine," said Vaan, trying to sound unconcerned. He turned and headed over to the South Gate.

My head spinning with thoughts, I followed. I hadn't had this much interaction with Humes for fifty years.

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**Boy, they really get on each other's nerves, don't they? And Rei's quite the hot-headed one.**

**But for now, review, because then I'll give you an _imaginary cookie!_**

**But no flames please, because they will be used to roast the flamer in question.**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


	3. Chapter 3: The Plains

**Woah, I'm only on Chapter Three and I've got 4 reviews! More than any other story I have on Fanfiction!**

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**Chapter Three**

**The Plains**

Giza Plains. A humid, dry place during the Dry. I stopped to inhale some Giza air, and feel the slight breeze ruffle my hair. Then I noticed how far ahead Vaan was.

Grumbling under my breath, I rushed over to him, feeling light on my feet. "Hi."

"You still following me?" came his irritable answer.

"Yes." I cast a quick look around us. There was a Giza Rabbit close by that was watching us curiously, and I saw a hyena farther away.

"Can I ask you something?" Vaan said.

"You just did."

Vaan groaned. "Well, I'll ask another one. Why are you following me?"

"I'm bored," I replied, with some honesty.

"Don't you play games with the other kids?" Vaan grumbled.

Highly insulted, I snapped, "I'm a bit more mature than the 'other kids'." _If only he knew, _I thought, smirking.

He saw my taunting grin. "What?" he asked, nettled.

"Nothing," I said innocently.

We were quiet for a while, once in a while exchanging glares, and sometimes I felt the familiar heat building up behind my eyes, causing me to break off my stare right away.

Entering the nomad village, Vaan went off to talk to someone, and I wandered around the tiny village, spending most time in the cockatrice pen. Then I heard Vaan say, close by, "Penelo? What are you doing here?"

Curious, I walked over towards him, and saw him talking to a girl his age with blond pigtails. "I could ask you the same! Though the answer's pretty clear: no good."

Unable to resist, I grinned. "Oh, Vaan, is this your girlfriend?"

Both the teens swung their heads over to look at me, Penelo's gaze curious, Vaan's defensive. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"That's what _you _say." I smirked.

"Vaan? Who's this?" Penelo asked.

"She's Rei," Vaan grunted. "She was following me in Rabanastre and out here because she's bored."

"And because I'm convinced you stole something," I pointed out, glowering.

Penelo laughed. "Well, I wouldn't put it past him. By the way," she added to me, "I'm Penelo. Nice to meet you!"

"You too," I said, smiling. Penelo's happiness was infectious.

"What? I'm being good!" Vaan declared to Penelo's comment, outraged.

"Hm, is that right? So then, you wouldn't mind if I, say, tagged along, would you?"

"Not you too," Vaan groaned, and I smiled mischievously.

"Now you've got _two _girls on your case," I teased. "You'd better be good."

"Huh?"

"Oh, don't worry," Penelo assured him. "Migelo's busy with preparations for the fete at the palace. Why, I'm free for the whole day. Well? Let's get going!"

"Hm." Vaan turned to me. "Are you sure you don't have anything to do?"

"Positive," I said cheerfully. "So I can keep an eye on you, too."

Vaan groaned and turned to leave. Penelo and I followed him, exchanging grins.

---

We soon found the boy named Jinn. Vaan had told us that he wanted to make a Sunstone, and we needed Jinn's help to do it. The little boy was sitting next to a huge Shadestone.

We came up to him, and he proceeded to tell us about Sunstones. I knew all about them already, so I let my mind wander.

Not a good pastime.

A male Hume face entered my mind, a pale one, with dark gray eyes and long black hair. "No...!" I gasped, clutching at my chest, feeling as though a thorn was piercing my heart, and my eyes prickling with unshed tears. The vision vanished, and Giza Plains was before me again.

"Rei? You okay?" Penelo asked with concern.

"Huh? Oh, yeah...just a bad...thought..."

I kept my mind firmly fixed on Sunstones as we looked for Shadestones.

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**Rei met Penelo, and they're making Sunstones. And what's up with Rei? Who's she thinking of?**

**I have a challenge for you. The first person that can guess what happened to Rei, the tragic incident fifty years ago, the last interaction she had had with Humes, will get to read a future chapter that I have completed already. Sounds like fun eh?**

**Please review! Comments, critiques, and compliments welcome! But please no flames or Rei will probably go after you.**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


	4. Chapter 4: Feathers

**Chapter Four is a longer chapter. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Four**

**Feathers**

I plodded on after Vaan and Penelo, who were happily chattering away. The day no longer felt remotely interesting, just another black hole of depression. There was nothing else for me to do today, so I just followed around after Vaan and Penelo. But I had the urge to do something reckless. Like break into the fete tonight and bring a little pain to Vayne Solidor. Then I rolled my eyes. Who was I kidding myself? Even if I did get in, I would probably never find Vayne.

Quite suddenly, something large crashed into me and threw me to the ground. A hyena. It pressed its claws to my chest, and I let out a cry of pain. Quick as a flash, I grabbed my diamond dagger. When its sharp teeth were inches from my face, and I could smell its terrible breath, I jammed the knife into the hyena's chest. Blood spurted out of the wound, splattering onto the ground and onto my white shirt. Why exactly had I worn white today?

Seconds later, the hyena's breathing stopped, and its body lay there limply. I shoved it off of me and got to my feet, dusting myself off as best as I could. I siezed the dagger from the dead creature's body, and wiped it off on the hyena's fur.

Taking a look at my surroundings, I realized Vaan and Penelo were nowhere in sight.

Then I felt a hand clap over my mouth.

Using quick thinking, I shot my elbow back into my attacker. I heard an "oof" as the breath was knocked out of the person. I spun around and in half a second I had my diamond dagger pressed against the person's throat.

A second later, I recognized him. He was taller than me, with long, dark brown hair that fell around his face. He looked like he was eighteen years old. His eyes were a strange ruby color. He looked quite handsome, but I knew of the evil inside.

"Renova," I spat.

The man was an angel like me. His name was Renova-Istad Tysan, created to look eighteen, like I was created to look fourteen. He didn't have his wings out, but if they were, I knew the color they would be--ruby, like his eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless, black silk button-down shirt and black silk pants. He was wearing black boots. Renova was the one who had framed me, made it look like I had killed Nizera-Bhorjo Xisi. But Renova had killed Nizera. Renova had been created around the same time I had. He was considered a savior of the Angels, and had a very respectable place in the Court of Angels. But I knew better.

"Avriella," he purred in a smooth voice that was unconvincing.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed. "Trying to ruin my life even more?"

"Now now, can't we put the past behind us?" Renova asked, a twisted grin spreading across his face.

"You caused me to be exiled from Heaven's Holder," I snarled back. "I think I have every right to be angry with you."

"Come now, that was one hundred eighty-five years ago."

"Yeah? Well, that's not very long to either of us."

We were interrupted by a growling close by. A pack of hyenas were eyeing us with interest, and were advancing. Renova and I exchanged glances. "You first?" he suggested lightly.

I withdrew the dagger from his throat and took up a defensive position, facing the hyenas. They leapt after me, and I jumped high. I came down right on top of a hyena and plunged my dagger into its back. It let out a howl. I took out the dagger and began slashing through the rest of the group, which was about five more. In less than a minute, all the hyenas were lying around me, dead.

A slow clapping caused me to spin around. Renova was watching me, a smirk curving on his lips.

"Leave. Now." My tone left no room for argument.

"Why? I was just beginning to have fun."

I glared at him, and felt my eyes beginning to heat up. This time, I willed the transformation. When my eyes were completely black, I felt a prickling in my back, but I forced myself not to let my wings come out.

"Why are you here?" I demanded belligerently.

"I want just one thing from you." His blood red eyes moved down from my face and focused on the feather that was hanging around my neck. I self-consciously covered it up, and I felt the color draining from my face. Angel feathers were completely useless when a Hume or other creature was using it, but each different feather contained magical properties that caused Angels to get their magick. White Angel feathers were used to heal wounds mostly, but were only to be used in the most dire of situations. They also had the ability to manipulate Angel minds, a magick I had never used before.

I took a step back. "No."

"I'll just pluck one from your wings, then."

I winced visibly. Plucking a feather from an Angel's wings was about as painful as getting stabbed with a knife. "Never."

Renova took a step forward. I took a step back. Renova sighed. "Now is not the time for games."

"I'm not playing a game. I'm using common sense," I snapped.

Renova came closer. I backed up...right into a boulder.

"Just give me the feather."

"No!"

"Please?"

"That's not gonna work."

Renova shook his head. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah, right," I growled sarcastically.

"It's true." Renova's red eyes were wide and innocent; _too_ innocent. He was prepared to injure me to get what he wanted. My grip tightened on my dagger's golden handle.

I snorted disbelievingly. Renova took another step. He was now about a foot away.

"I know what you've been through, Avriella," he said.

He was trying to get past my defenses, but I wouldn't let him. I gritted my teeth and tried to force images of _his _face away.

"It was your fault he died," Renova continued.

This time, Renova had struck gold. I let out a gasp of pain as I clutched my chest. It felt like my own dagger was stabbing my heart. "Just...shut up..." I muttered, closing my eyes.

"You are a backstabbing fiend," he said ruthlessly, watching my face with obvious enjoyment. "How could you let him die?"

I sank to my knees, gasping for air. I couldn't seem to breath properly. I felt something warm and wet run down my cheek. My heart felt like it was on fire.

"Why would anyone love you?"

"Stop...please..." I moaned weakly. The tears were running freely down my face now. I was in agony. "Make it stop..."

I heard Renova chuckle coldly, but all noise was fading into the background. The only thing in my head now was _his _face, his black hair, his warm gray eyes, his relaxed grin...

Suddenly, I felt something force my chin up. I reluctantly opened my eyes. My vision was blurry with tears, but I could still see Renova's face. His hand was under my chin, and he was on his knees beside me. He was forcing me to look at him.

"Go away..." I said faintly.

"I can make the pain stop," Renova promised. "Just give me your feather."

Did he think I was that gullible? Part of me wanted to give him my feather, just so he could stop taunting me, but the other part of me knew that if had one of my feathers in his possession, the whole world would fall apart.

"Never," I whispered.

Renova looked like he was experiencing some sort of sick thrill from my pain, and it wasn't with reluctance when he opened his mouth to bring back more anguishing memories. But a familiar voice in the distance called out in a worried tone, "Rei!"

"I will see you again," Renova vowed. He got to his feet, and suddenly his wings were out, gigantic and red. Renova took flight, and then he was gone.

I quickly got to my feet. My eyes changed back to dark green, and I wiped my face so it didn't look like I had been crying. By the time Penelo and Vaan had found me, I looked perfectly alright, except for the blood splattered all over my clothes.

"Rei!" Penelo said, looking relieved. "We finished making the Sunstone! When we were back at the nomad village, we realized you weren't with us, and we decided to wait for you to come to the nomad village. But you didn't, so we decided to come looking for you. Are you all right?"

"Yes," I lied. "Just got into a few fights."

Vaan looked at me, slightly impressed. "Looks like you didn't even get a scratch."

I shrugged, and turned my head away. Not entirely true. I did get hurt--but not in a way Vaan would think.

"Come on, let's go back to Rabanastre," I muttered, still not meeting anyone's gaze.

---**(Whew, this is a long chapter!)**

Back in Rabanastre, we went down to Lowtown. I was just tagging along now, not exactly sure of what to do. We stopped outside of Old Dalan's place. Old Dalan was very smart, and he was one of the precious few Humes who knew what I was.

"Hey, Vaan?" Penelo said to Vaan. I hung back to watch.

"Hmm?" Vaan asked.

"It's been a long time since we did anything together. Too long. I had a really good time. Well, I should probably get back to the store. Actually, I was kind of supposed to be watching the place for Migelo. And, Vaan--"

"I'm not going anywhere. Okay?" Vaan assured her. I noticed his voice had a slightly guilty tone to it. Penelo didn't seem to notice. She smiled.

"That's what I wanted to hear. Seeya later! Oh, and nice meeting you, Rei!" she added to me, before walking away.

As soon as Penelo was out of earshot, I heard Vaan sigh and mutter, "Sorry, Penelo."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Vaan's head snapped to me. "You're still here?"

"Yes. You should know by now that I'm an ever-constant nuisance."

"You got that right," Vaan grunted.

"What're you getting yourself into?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"I'll just follow you again."

Vaan groaned. "All right, you win." He lowered his voice and came closer. "I'm planning to sneak into the fete tonight, to take back some of the treasure that's for Dalmasca."

I blinked, hardly believing my luck. He was sneaking into the fete tonight! This was my chance to do something reckless. I also admired his intentions.

"You mind if I come along?" I wondered. I would probably go along even if he didn't want me to.

Vaan raised his eyebrows skeptically. "You're just a kid."

"I've proved myself to you time and time again that I can take care of myself," I protested hotly. "How long will it take you to realize that I'm not 'just a kid'?"

"Fine, I guess. You'd better be able to keep up with me, though."

"Don't worry about it." My mind was racing. I was going to break into the palace tonight.

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**Yikes, long chapter. :-)**

**But anyway, the Tragic Incident Challenge is still going on! Lemme hear your ideas, mkay? However, whether someone's got the correct answer or not, the Challenge ends next time I post a chapter. So keep the ideas coming!**

**By the way, Renova's evil, isn't he? He's such a hottie, but he's so wicked! But my fav character from FFXII, whether canon or original, is Lord Larsa. -drools-**

**Review!**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


	5. Chapter 5: Filthy Sky Pirates

**Rei plus sky pirates equals nothing good. Enjoy chapter five!**

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**Chapter Five**

**Filthy Sky Pirates**

The Garamythe Waterway was, as expected, dank and dark. I had never seen fit to enter it, myself. Vaan and I prowled through the disgusting place, slashing rats out of the way whenever they saw fit to barricade our path.

I was donning different clothes, preferable to my blood-stained white shirt I had been wearing earlier. I was wearing a strapless dark green silk top that matched my eye color. The shirt was so long it almost reached my knees. However, the back of the shirt left the skin on my back, all the way down to my waist, bare. My pants, instead of black silk, were brown leather, but still baggy. I had a leather belt hanging loosely around my waist. Firmly attached to the belt was my diamond dagger. I was still wearing my Angel feather necklace. An Angel never took off their necklace. Around my right wrist was a pure golden bangle, a pure silver bangle, and a pure bronze bangle. They were not there just for decoration; the bronze bangle increased my resistance of any non-magick attack, the silver bangle increased my resistance of any magick attack, and I guess the gold bangle was just there for decoration. I was still wearing my diamond cross earrings. Aside from my feather necklace, those earrings were the only things I never took off. My shoes were still clad in comfortable wooden sandals. My waist length black hair still hung around my skinny, flat frame, also covering my left eye. While Vaan had been talking to Old Dalan, I had made a bit of a costume change.

A young boy named Kytes, someone Vaan seemed to know, had helped let us in. He had asked me a couple questions, the usual: What's your name? Why're you with Vaan? All that stuff.

And now we were in the waterway.

We didn't talk much, just navigated through the waterway. I saved Vaan a couple of times, like when a Dire Rat was about to jump on him from behind, and when a Steeling swooped in out of nowhere to attack. He had changed his mind about me being 'just a kid', and was very grateful for my presence. I was just grateful he hadn't suspected anything yet.

After I had finished with a couple of Dire Rats, we caught sight of the gate going up to the palace. "There it is," I whispered. I grinned tightly. "Let's hope we don't get caught."

"Where's the fun without a bit of risk?"

I chuckled, and we made our way up into the palace. The stairway was long, and Vaan wasn't the only one panting when we finally reached the top.

I took a look around. It was lavish and pretty, even though it was only down in the servant area. Some of the servants glanced at Vaan curiously, but thankfully, none of those wondering eyes landed on me. Obviously they weren't really going to affect my future much.

We saw a set of stairs leading up to the other areas of the palace. However, the guards weren't letting us through. A friendly Seeq helped us get past the guards, but he didn't think we were thieves--just hungry. We crept silently up the steps, Vaan in the lead, me watching his back. We slipped past the guards easily. Since they didn't really notice me in the first place, that was excruciatingly easy for me, with no risk involved. I sometimes wish I could take off that magic, but unless the person was going to impact my future quite alot, they would continue to not notice me.

I saw the look in Vaan's eyes as we entered the treasure room. I opened my mouth to remind him that this treasure's for Dalmasca, not his own profit, but I suddenly became aware that there was magicite in the room. Angel were very attuned to magicite and nethicite. A warm, content feeling quickly overcame me. There wasn't much of it, but it was powerful. If there were more, I would probably be very happy. Nethicite had the opposite effect; I would feel very queasy, depending on how much nethicite is there. Vaan found the magicite and was examining it when a man's voice interrupted us.

"Quite a performance."

I spun around, my hand already clenching my dagger's handle. In truth, I had been expecting someone to sneak up on us this whole time, but I would think it would be Renova. This man was someone I did not recognize. He had short, brownish-blonde hair and one of his ears had several piercings. A Viera was with him. I knew what he was the moment he stepped into the room, and it took all the effort I had not to leap on him and tear him to shreds.

_Sky pirate._

"Who are you?" Vaan asked belligerently, from behind me.

"I play the leading man, who else?" the man said loftily

I let out a snort. "If you're the leading man, then I'm a...Bangaa." I had been about to say Hume, but that would have led to awkward questions.

The man raised his eyebrows at me. Damn. He could see me. Well, I had been asking for it, but I hadn't really wanted to be noticed. Then his gaze moved to Vaan. "Fran, the magicite."

The Viera stalked forward. "Now then, I'll take that."

"No you won't," Vaan protested. "It's mine. I found it."

"And then when I take it from you, it'll be mine," said the man.

"It's not anyone's," I snapped. "It's for Dalmasca." Then I glared at the man and his partner. "Leave now, unless you want me to plunge this knife into your exceedingly arrogant face."

The man smirked. "That's tough talk for a young lady."

"I can talk as tough as I want," I snarled. "And I'll match that toughness with my actions."

He tutted and shook his head, but I saw his eyes traveling to my diamond dagger. No doubt he saw the pure gold handle encrusted with opals, my numerous bangles, my earrings, the fact that my shirt was made of silk, and my feather that radiated white light.

He took a step closer. "Those are some nice trinkets you got there."

The Viera, Fran, closed her eyes. "She is radiating strong magick."

Vaan had been watching the whole thing with his eyes wide. He was especially glancing at me, and a bit apprehensively.

Suddenly, the sound of soldiers running got close to use. The man smiled. "Exit stage right."

Fran shook her head. "The Gods do not smile on us."

_You have no idea, _I thought.

"I like it better that way," the man said.

Taking advantage of their lack of concentration, I darted toward the exit as fast as I could. I heard Vaan following close behind. We made our way through the castle, zipping through, away from the guards and the pirates. We climbed many sets of stairs. Eventually, when we were out of breath, we stopped. I looked down and, with absolutely no shock, saw the Archadian soldiers fighting some Dalmascans. I thought I recognized a woman in a red skirt. I blinked. No, it couldn't be...the last time I saw her was two years ago...

"What's going on?" Vaan asked blankly.

Suddenly, there was a canon fire, and we were blown backwards. And I saw those filthy sky pirates again.

"The _Ifrit_, eh?" the man observed. "Impeccable timing. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were waiting all along."

"You think?" I said scathingly.

Vaan and I started running at the same time. Behind us, I heard the man shout exasperatedly, "Stop running!"

Then, Fran appeared on a vehicle, blocking our way.

"End of the line!" the man shouted from right behind us. "You have something that belongs to me."

"Belongs to you?!" I yelled back incredulously. "It belongs to Dalmasca, you thieving ba--"

I guess it was a good thing when soldiers suddenly appeared, and I stopped my sentence in shock. However, the man had his own moment. "Damn!"

An enemy soldier shouted, "More this way!"

"Fran! Let's move!" the man shouted. He suddenly sprinted towards us. He completely ignored me, but forcefully grabbed ahold of Vaan. He jumped off the ledge with him. "Off with you!"

They landed on the hovering vehicle, which was flying away as I watched. Wonderful. I was stuck up here with tons of Archadian soldiers.

I thought of my options. Even I couldn't take on this many Archadian soldiers without going into my true Angel form. I could only see one way out of this.

I took a deep breath and ran to the ledge.

I sprang off of the ledge after the vehicle. In half a second, my wings were out, great and white. It felt so fantastic to fly again, even in the circumstances. Then half a second later I was perched on the edge of the vehicle, and my wings were gone. All in all, I only had my wings out for roughly a second.

"Let go of me!" Vaan said to the man.

"Keep this up and I will!" the man said angrily. Then he saw me on the edge of the vehicle. "How'd you get here?"

"I jumped," I said, half a smirk spreading across my face.

Fran seemed to have difficulty driving the vehicle. "What's going on, Fran?" the man asked.

"I don't know. It's not heeding me!"

I knew what was going on. I had just let off a huge burst of magick when I let my wings come out, and it had overloaded the vehicle's system. But I didn't say anything.

"I don't have time for this!" the man snapped.

"I-I'm slipping!" Vaan cried out.

"Not good!" the man muttered.

We dropped in height, and right down into the Garamsythe Waterway. Well, at least we had a way to get back to Rabanastre. The vehicle crashed, and we all tumbled off.

"What happened?" Fran wondered. "Our hover didn't just drop--it disappeared." She shot me a searching glance, and I avoided her gaze.

"Bah. Forget it," the man grumbled. "Even if we could fly... The _Ifrit_'s playing with fire, and I'd rather not get burned. We'll go the old-fashioned way."

"You're not scared, are you?" I tauted meanly. I hated that man, even though I didn't really know him. I made it my job to hate sky pirates.

The man glanced at me curiously. "You're too brave, and too cocky. That's going to get you into trouble someday."

"Yeah? You would know."

I glared at him, and his expression was simply amused.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it's none of your business," I growled.

The man just noticed that Vaan was looking at Fran weirdly. "Not many Viera where you come from, thief?"

"It's Vaan," Vaan muttered. "Sorry," he added.

"Well, Fran is special," said the man. "In that she'd deign to partner with a Hume."

"Oh?" said Fran in her exotic voice. "Like a sky pirate that chooses to steal through the sewers?"

"Pirates?" Vaan said excitedly. "You're sky pirates? So you have an airship?"

"It's Balthier," said the man.

"So you _do _have a name," I sneered. "I was getting ready to just refer to you as 'The Coward'."

Vaan was looking at me with some shock. He'd never seen me be rude on purpose.

Balthier was raising an eyebrow. "I guess I'll just have to refer to you as 'The Child'."

I shot him a poisonous glare. That was low. But then, so was my insult. "My name's Rei, and you'll do well to remember it."

"I'll make it a priority," Balthier mocked. Then he turned to Vaan. "Listen thief--Vaan. If you and your hot-headed friend ever want to see your home again, you do exactly as I say. Myself, Fran, and you. And I guess Rei," he added as an afterthought. I gritted my teeth. "We're working together now. Understood?"

"I would never sink so low as working with a sky pirate," I hissed venemously, extremely offended. _And I'll never see my home again anyway, because I never want to go back to Heaven's Holder._

Balthier smirked. "We're not all that bad."

"I have proof against that."

"Rei," Vaan interrupted. "Let's just go with them."

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath through my nose. "Fine. But I'm not taking any orders from _sky pirates_." I spat out the last part.

I opened my eyes in time to see Balthier glimpse at the magicite in Vaan's hand.

Vaan saw, too. "Don't even think you're getting this," he warned.

"The thought never crossed my mind," Balthier said breezily.

I threw him a glowering look before turning my heel and stalking away. I heard them following behind me, and I strained to hear any conversation they were having.

"...strange, all right," I heard Balthier murmur.

"Magick is flowing from her every pore," came Fran's quiet reply. "I have never see such power in anyone."

"And what's with her grudge against sky pirates? This girl's a mystery that I am determined to figure out."

I smiled grimly. If he was going to unravel my secret, I was determined to make it ten times harder.

* * *

**Wow, Rei hates sky pirates, doesn't she? I had fun writing this chapter, what with Balthier's coolness and Rei's hot-headedness. Rei can certainly be rude when she wants to, huh?**

**The challenge is over, and I'm announcing the winner: Moonshine's Guide. She is correct when she says the man Rei loved bears a striking resemblance to what the emperor would've looked like when he was young. SPOILER: Rei loved the emperor's younger brother. Yes, that is a character I made up. The reason nobody speaks of him is because he was a traitor to Archadia. So Moonshine was the closest in guessing who Rei loved.**

**To Moonshine: I will send you the chappie as soon as possible!!**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


	6. Chapter 6: Overheard Plans

**Sorry it took so long, but here's chapter six!**

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**Chapter Six**

**Overheard Plans**

The waterway was silent as we trudged through. We didn't face many enemies, though I saved everyone's skins at least twice. Balthier was having even more murmured conversations with Fran, and I heard my name mentioned more than once.

I walked on ahead of the group, straining my ears to hear the muffled mutterings of the sky pirates and Vaan. Then, suddenly, I stopped. Vaan crashed into me, and I staggered for a second.

"What's going on? Why'd you stop?" Vaan asked, his voice echoing.

"If we want to get to Rabanastre before the sun rises so nobody misses us, I'd say we should get moving," Balthier added. "Unless, of course, you want to be thrown in the dungeons."

He made to move forward, but I flung out my hand to stop him. "Shut up and stop moving," I hissed.

We were silent for a couple of seconds. Then the sound of hushed voices wafted over to us.

"...feather, we can take over the Council, right?" mumbled a male voice.

"She's too tough to crack," muttered a second voice, also male. "Are you sure Renova's tried hard enough?"

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. "I wonder what poor goons are working for him now," I muttered under my breath. Balthier shot me a searching look. It was clear what he was asking. _You know what they're talking about?_

I responded with a burning glare that invited no argument.

They were speaking again. I stopped glowering at Balthier and turned my attention to the voices.

"If we can find Avriella, we'll find the feather," said the first. "She still follows tradition, doesn't she? Got that big white feather still hanging around her neck?"

I knew my name would be dragged in there sooner or later. My mouth felt dry when my feather was mentioned, and covered it surreptitiously. Balthier was still scrutinizing me, as well as Fran. Even Vaan was beginning to give me weird looks. I changed my face into a hopefully confused expression. "Simply a coincidence," I lied dryly.

"Mm, I dunno," said the second. "She hasn't been in Heaven's Holder in ages, ever since that war."

"We'll need her back in the city though," the first said. "Renova's planning a full-scale uprising against the Council. And the plan won't work unless Avriella's back up in Heaven's Holder."

"The uprising will be easy," the second chuckled, to my utter disgust. "Renova's been moving up faster than you can say 'Renova killed Nizera'. They all think he's God's gift to Angels. As for Avriella..." He laughed sinisterly. "I think some leverage is in order..."

"Huh?" said the first, completely confused.

"You dolt, you know," muttered the second, sounding much less amused. "Who's the one person Avriella can call friend?"

My breath caught in my throat.

"That pretty Gold Angel...oh, what's her name...Fecitlia? Filiceta?"

"Felictia," the second sighed.

"So, what about Felictia?"

"You are a supreme idiot, Grogelitz," the second grumbled.

Grogelitz...Grogelitz...where had I heard that name before?

"Not all of us can be as smart as Renova, Porjad," the one called Grogelitz whined.

Now I remembered where I had heard those names! Grogelitz-Ord Orgle and Porjad-Rif Morjin, almost like brothers, and a pair of gorillas. Porjad was the brains of the group, though he didn't have much. Grogelitz was the one who carried Porjad's plans out. They were both Ruby Angels.

"Whatever," Porjad grunted. "Now, about Felictia--"

"Who's Felictia?"

"You nutcase! The Angel we just talked about! Avriella's friend!"

"Oh yeah, the one that gave her the stupid nickname... What was it again?"

I had to get Balthier, Fran, and Vaan out of there before they mentioned the nickname Felictia gave me. Then my profile would be revealed for sure! "We should really get going," I whispered, pushing them along. They gave me weird looks but tiptoed down the corridor. But I stayed behind.

"It was...it had something to do with the sun..." Grogelitz was muttering.

"It was 'Rei', you imbecile! Pronounced like 'ray'. Felictia gave it to Avriella because she was like a 'sunray'." Porjad giggled.

Grinning dangerously, I stepped out of the shadows. I was twirling my dagger in my hand. "Hello, boys," I said in a pleasant voice.

Porjad and Grogelitz froze. They turned their red eyes to me, absolutely petrified. I was known among Angels for being among the most skilled fighters. Porjad was tall, skinny, rat-like, and looked like he was in his mid-twenties; Grogelitz looked more like a pig, being squat and fat. They both had ruby-colored feathers hanging around their necks.

Porjad was the first to regain his composure. "Avriella," he said in a greasy voice. "What a...wonderful surprise."

"I heard your talk, Porjad," I continued, spinning the dagger expertly. I felt satisfaction at the fear in their eyes when they flickered to the dagger. "About my friend."

"Ah...yes..." Porjad sounded nervous. His upper lip was sweating. He kept glancing at my dagger apprehensively. "That was...just a little..."

"Joke?" Grogelitz suggested in a high voice.

My grin disappeared and was replaced by a scowl. I tightened my grip on the golden handle of the dagger and slammed Porjad against the wall. I thrust my dagger at his throat, but not hard enough so he would bleed. "What's your plan? Why're you here?"

"We're not sure," Porjad squeaked. "We're under orders."

I pressed the dagger harder against his throat. A fine line of blood was beginning to bead there. Porjad was sweating. "Who's your boss?" I demanded.

"That would be me," purred an all-too-familiar voice from behind me.

I removed the dagger from Porjad's throat, feeling disgust and, though I never would admit it, the tiniest bit of fear.

"Renova," I growled.

"I was just coming to check up on my associates," Renova said smoothly. "And now I see you harassing them. May I inquire as to why?"

"May I inquire as to why your men were planning to take over the Council?" I retorted acidly. I still hadn't turned around.

"What?" Renova sounded truly bewildered, but he was the greatest actor I had ever known. "Porjad? Grogelitz? They don't have enough brains to walk and talk at the same time."

I privately agreed.

"Besides," Renova continued, "when have I ever had the incentive to?"

"Oh, well, let's think," I spat, wheeling around, my face contorted into a mocking sneer. I lifted my hand and began ticking off my fingers. "When you killed Nezira, when you blamed _me _for said murder of Nezira, when you hinted it when we were alone together, when-"

"Avriella," he said in what he considered to be a reassuring tone, but I could see the sinister glint in his bloody eyes. "I have no need—or want—to take over the Council of Angels. Now," he added quietly, leaning a little closer forward, menace layering his tone, "I expect your friends will need you quite soon."

I opened my mouth to retort, but I heard a shout that was most definitely Imperial. "Now we have her!"

There was a slashing sound, then a woman's voice. "Who would be next?" she challenged.

"Close ranks! Bring her down!"

Vaan's voice echoed through the waterway. "Jump down! Hurry!"

"Your little friend need you," Renova whispered in my ear.

I glared at him as a walked briskly towards the noise. "I'm not through with you yet," I hissed.

As I began running, I heard Renova mutter from behind me, "And I'm not through with you, Avriella... We will meet again, soon..."

* * *

**Yeah, sorry it took so long to do... Xsheepish grinX I had a ton of different ideas for this chapter, but I eventually decided on my first idea: the group overhear's Renova's plans, only Rei knows what it means, and the rest of the group gets more and more suspicious. Plus, school started, and so did dance.**

**Anyway, I'll try and update soon, okay?**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


	7. Chapter 7: Too Much Trouble

**Hello my faithful fans! (To think that I actually have fans! XfaintsX) Here's chapter seven!**

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**Chapter Seven**

**Too Much Trouble**

I raced through the waterway, my hurried footfalls echoing unnaturally in the place. That could cause repercussions, but I couldn't worry about Renova or Imperials right now. I was mostly focused on my friends up ahead.

_Wait a sec, _I thought. _Uhm, friends? I thought I wasn't going down that path! Not again!_

I gritted my teeth against the internal argument. Friendship lead to eventual hurt, especially when you live forever. I couldn't risk that happening again. No more close relationships.

Seeing the people I was traveling with, I skidded to a halt. A woman in a red skirt was jumping down into Vaan's open arms from a ledge where a couple of Imperials were. The woman looked vaguely familiar...

My eyes widened when I saw her face. A grin spread across my face, quickly to be replaced by a false scowl. _Well done for faking death, Princess, _I thought.

"She's not alone!" an Imperial shouted.

I rolled my eyes. Dur.

"Our ranks grow by the hour," Fran murmured.

"And our troubles with them," Balthier muttered back.

Then the Imperials came down, and the battle commenced. Excellent--I needed to get some frustration out of my system. And beating up Imperials always spouted a bubble of euphoria in my chest.

I stabbed the first one that came close to me. Blood spurted out of the wound as he fell to his knees. I stepped daintily over the body to slash at the next attacker.

Of course, we defeated them all. We were a pretty good batch of fighters, me being the best, with all modesty. After all, I did have millions of years of practice, and how old are they? Seventeen? Hardly qualified to be children in an Angel's standards. More like infants.

When the last Imperial had fallen, Vaan quickly turned to the woman. "Are you all right?" he asked with uncharacteristic concern.

"Thank you," she replied graciously.

"I'm Vaan. And this is Rei, Balthier, and-- Hey!"

For Balthier had turned around silently and was ignoring them.

Vaan looked back at the woman. "What's your name?" he added.

_Ashe,_ I remembered. "Amalia," she said.

"Amalia, huh?" Vaan said. "Nice to meet you."

_Amalia _suddenly looked a bit forlorn, turning her head away. "There were others with me."

"I'm sorry," said Fran who, unlike her partner, was actually listening to the situation.

"No..." Amalia began to protest, then was interrupted by the glowing magicite in Vaan's hand. I balled my hands into fists as I looked at the treasure he stole.

"Huh?" said Vaan, utterly bewildered as usual.

"Oh, now isn't that impressive," said Balthier, taking immediate interest in the situation.

"Don't get any ideas," Vaan warned him. "I said it's mine."

"I'm afraid the jury's still out on that one," Balthier said breezily.

"Hey, hooligans," I spat out, speaking for the first time since I had rejoined them. "It's for Dalmasca! Don't you listen to me?!"

"You stole that?" said Amalia, her tone shocked and a little angry.

"Yeah!" Vaan bragged.

"Have you finished?" Fran asked. "When the guards don't report in, they'll come looking for us."

"If they aren't already," Balthier added darkly.

"You should come with us," Vaan encouraged to Amalia. "Rather than being by yourself."

Amalia hesitated, indecision clearly etched on her face, before replying, "Very well." She walked past them to stand in front of them, so her back was to them.

"What's wrong with her?" Vaan stage-whispered to Balthier.

"You have a lot to learn before we even get started on your thievery," Balthier said, and for once I agreed with the sky pirate.

"What's that mean?" the boy said belligerently.

Unknowingly interrupting them, Amalia began to speak up in icy tones. "The situation requires I accept such help I can find. Though it be from _thieves._" She added an extra note of disgust onto the last word. "I shall accompany you until we find my companions. No longer."

Balthier turned to Vaan to inform him of something or other. I walked briskly over to Amalia's side. "Hey _Amalia._ I'm Rei."

"Aren't you a little young for a thief?" Amalia answered stiffly.

I practically bristled with indignance from the question. "Thief?! I'm not a thief!" I hissed, outraged. "I'm traveling with them for convenience. I _hate _filthy sky pirates and petty thieves."

Amalia didn't look entirely convinced, but didn't argue. "I suppose," she sighed, "I must trust you to survive here. What did you say your name was?"

"Rei."

She looked sideways at me, and she spotted the feather around my neck. "What is that?"

"Nothing," I mumbled, looking away. "Just some feather I found."

In the awkward silence that followed, Balthier's voice wafted over to us.

"...being such an upstanding member of the insurgence."

"Resistance," Amalia corrected automatically. "Well, what are waiting for?" She stalked on ahead, and I fell behind, my mind wandering to other things.

Balthier stepped behind, too, so he was right beside me. "So," he said in a low voice. "You took care of those we...ah, overheard?"

I flashed a glare up at him, before turning my gaze to my feet. "Yeah, I guess," I lied quietly, not wanting to say about Renova's abrupt appearance. After all, Balthier and the rest didn't know I was an Angel.

I could only pray they didn't find out.

xxx

"We're almost out," Vaan panted, relieved.

Sure enough, the exit was a few feet from us after trekking through the waterway (again). I felt a surge of relief. I would soon be parting with these people to avoid getting tangled up in another mess that would take ages to clean up.

Then I saw a ball of fire racing around. "Look out!" I warned them. Sure enough, it became the Firemane. I sprang into action, gripping my dagger expertly.

It reared up and came crashing down. I rolled to the side, crouching, my hand still on the blade's handle. A shockwave made up of fire tumbled towards us, and I jumped. However, Vaan was knocked down.

Using quick magick attacks and darting stealthily with my knife, we brought it down quickly. I dropped my guard and stood smugly. "A job well done."

Then it lashed out once more, me as the target.

I said not a word, made no sound, as it lashed across my arm, creating a fierce burn. It hurt, to put it bluntly. I fell to my knees immediately, haven't suffered this much pain since...while, since fifty years or so. I used my dagger with my left hand (I was ambidextrous) to cut off a bit of cloth from the bottom of my shirt, so the bottom part of my navel was exposed, down to my pants. I bandaged the wound, not looking at any of the others, knowing that I had made a mistake that could've been fatal.

What was happening to me?

As the others finished off the Firemane, I stayed off to the side, letting my hair fall over my face. I couldn't wait to leave this hellhole, and away from them. It was too much.

Then I froze as an Imperial's voice echoed through the waterway.

"Stand where you are!"

Slowly, with unhurried movements, I turned around. I clenched my fist and pain jolted up my right arm. I bit my tongue as to not cry out in pain. A horde of Imperials had surrounded us from up on the second floor. And behind them all was Vayne Solidor.

I felt my whole body quivering with rage. Before I knew it, familiar tingling sensations were layering over my body, and I knew I was going all the way, going into my full-fledged Angel form--

Until Balthier's hand rested on my shoulder warningly. I stopped quivering and tried to relax, breathing evenly through my nose and mouth. I could see he was restraining Amalia, too.

"Now is not the time," he muttered to both of us.

xxx

Later, we were up in Lowtown, but not in the way I wanted. Our hands were cuffed, and we were surrounded by Imperials. I could hear the people muttering, throwing dirty looks at the group. I was surprised unpleasantly so when I found that they could see me. In fact, most of their glares were directed at me. I bristled with indignance, all the while holding back a flood of questions, which the answers couldn't be good. _Why do they see me?!_

"They think me some common thief!" Amalia exclaimed in indignant astonishment.

"Better than some common assassin," Balthier remarked dryly.

An Imperial soldier came up and started pushing Amalia away from the rest. "These people have done nothing," she cried imperiously. "Release them!"

"What are you doing?" Vaan asked.

"Don't interrupt me, I'm thinking," Amalia snapped tersely.

Vayne Solidor was ahead of us. He crossed his arms and smirked as his gaze found mine. I burned with unmasked loathing at him, but I didn't feel the tingle. Maybe I was getting better at controlling it.

He strolled over to me, and at a flick of his right hand, a circle of Imperials enclosed him and I in a circle together. It was a split second before I realized someone was behind him.

Renova.

I bared my teeth and literally growled. Renova smiled smugly and cocked an eyebrow mockingly.

"Well well well, if it isn't Avriella-Reinix Lentali, or the Last White Angel, as some call you," Vayne said.

The whole sentence threw me off guard. Questions were spinning through my head. _How does he know? What has Renova told him? How much more does he know?_

I wasn't about to let him see how much his casual remark had thrown me off balance. My face remained impassive as I returned coldly, "And if it isn't Vayne Solidor, destroyer of all hopes."

"Only those against me, actually." He casually began inspecting his fingernails. "I'm sure you know my associate, Renova-Istad Tysan?"

"Only too well," I growled.

"Come now, Avriella, don't be like that." Renova strode forward, until he was merely inches away. I could see something in his eyes I didn't like.

I didn't reply in words. I simply elbowed him hard, causing him to go crashing into a couple of Imperials, knocking away the circle. His eyes flashed. I smiled grimly at him before stalking back to Vaan and the others. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Vayne cross his arms. I heard him mutter, "Interesting." Then he walked away.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I became immobile as another familiar voice cried out.

"Wait!"

I spun around, and so did Vaan. Sure enough, Penelo was hurrying towards us, completely terrified. "They didn't know what they were doing! You have to let them go! You have to!"

She struggled fruitlessly against the guard as Vaan replied, "Sorry Penelo. That dinner'll have to wait."

"I told you!" she shouted, her eyes welling up with tears.

"That's enough!" A furious shout came from a nearby Imperial, who proceeded to knock Vaan unconscious.

I glared at him, but I knew better than to hurt him.

"Leave him alone!"

Somehow, incredibly, Penelo had broken through the tight line of soldiers, and was running towards Vaan. Then Balthier stepped in her way, and held out his handkerchief.

"Hold onto this for me, will you?" he asked casually. "Just until I bring Vaan back."

Penelo accepted the gift tentatively and was thrust backwards by Imperials.

"On your feet!" an Imperial shouted to Vaan, who was rousing slowly. "You two, over here!" he barked at Balthier and I.

"All right, all right," Balthier said so only I could hear. "Edgy, aren't we?"

I sighed as I made my way over to them. I was not looking forward to this field trip to the dungeon, even though I could bust myself out.

I wasn't so sure about the rest of them.

I sighed once again. I always got in too much trouble to handle.

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**Once again, a thousand apologies for the huge holdup on this. It's been nearly two months, I'm so sorry. I had HUGE writer's block for this chapter, but I'll get the next one done as fast as I can.**

**Please review!**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


	8. Chapter 8: Silence

**Whoo! Chapter Eight! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Eight**

**Silence**

"You're awake."

I barely stirred as the sky pirate's words filled the aching silence. My head was throbbing something terrible, and my mouth felt painfully dry. I tried to swallow, and failed. My heavy eyelids lifted slightly so a sharp blur of color was thrown into my vision, causing my head to spin. I quickly shut my eyes, breathing slowly and silently as possible, unwilling for the terrible headaches to return.

It took a moment before I realized that the statement was not just directed at me, but at the entity behind me somewhere. I heard a scrabbling noise as someone rolled up to a sitting position.

"Where are we?" Vaan's voice asked, bewildered as always, though with a right this time.

"Prison, where else?" came Balthier's dry answer. "More a dungeon, but it's really all the same."

There was an unsteady shuffling as Vaan attempted to get to his feet. An unexpected shriek rattled the unnatural silence that I so hated, and there were quick, shocked footsteps. Then there was a thud, and I assumed Vaan tripped over something.

"Relax," Balthier said, with an edge of amusement, "it's just a corpse. Jump at every little thing down here and you'll wear yourself out." He let out a bored yawn. "It's not even a proper dungeon. They just sealed off the bottom level of the fortress. Take a look around. We're not the first they've thrown down here."

"Where's Fran?"

"She's off trying to find us a way out."

The quiet fell again, muffling out everything else. I hated the quiet here. I felt so cut off, so alone...like my dream. I wanted to moan, to move, to grunt, anything to break the horrible stillness.

"What's up with her?" Vaan asked, softer this time. I could tell he was looking at me. His and Balthier's stares burned into me, and for the first time in a while, I felt self-conscious.

"She appears to be unconscious, but after all, she seems to be a master of lies." Balthier's tone was sharp and cynical. "A _normal _Hume would've been wiped out for much longer after the injuries she received."

"What happened?" Vaan murmured.

"After we started moving, I saw something happen to her. A change. Her green eyes were becoming darker and darker, night green, until they were black. And she began to tremble, as if she was experiencing tingling sensations all over her body. And then...then she started to cry. It was...bewildering." He yawned again, as if the whole conversation was so utterly uninteresting that he might fall asleep. I knew that was not the case. "Then, there was a blinding flash of white light, and next thing I knew, she was on the ground, and an Imperial was repeatedly whacking her head with a stick until I tore him off of her. I don't know what had happened, but it was definitely caused by Rei."

That was the first time he had actually used my name.

"That's...uhm, weird."

Of course, that's all Vaan could think of to say. He was thoroughly confused by now, but he sounded bold enough, so I don't think he was shaken by this startling discovery.

The silence muffled the air around us once again, occasionally broken by the terrified screams coming from what sounded the main part of the dungeon. There were footsteps, and I realized Vaan was probably walking out. Balthier noticed, for he began to speak in a cautious tone.

"Remember what curiousity killed. Just a friendly word of advice. This is all the water we've got." I could imagine him holding up a petite canteen. "I'd save your strength if I were you."

The thumps of feet hitting the floor didn't slow up. Vaan must've ignored Balthier's advice.

As the quiet lapsed again, I ached for something to halt it, something to make a noise. But nothing came along. So I kept my eyes tightly shut and revisited my last few conscious moments out of the dungeon.

_I was feeling a mixed reaction. Anger, of course. How could I be taken captive? Had I really let myself slip so low as to being taken hostage by _Vayne?!_ And confusion, as to why the simple villagers could see me and why I had been unable to turn into my angel form. And I felt...sadness, forlorn, over something beyond me._

_Why had _he _died?_

_Before I knew it, I was trembling, shaking all over, and tingling feelings erupted all over my skin, crawling beneath my layers and into my muscles. I lost control. I shuddered violently before becoming completely still. A single, shining tear rolled slowly down my right cheek from a now dark iris._

_And then my magick exploded._

_A huge burst of white light as the powerful magick reverberated off me. I could hear people being knocked off their feet. And I slumped over, exhausted from the magickal buildup. My last few conscious thoughts were extreme pain as an Imperial mercilessly banged up my head, and loathing, for Renova was watching me with a smug expression as I fainted._

Just like what had happened, I felt wetness welling up from behind my closed eyelids, and it managed to squeeze out. I heard a tiny drop hit the ground next to my face. Then another. I had to refocus.

I turned to the dreamlike sequence that had happened after I had fell into unconsciousness.

_I was standing ontop a tiny island in the middle of a shining expanse of water, lit by a full moon and stars. No clouds covered the inky black sky. The water was a lake that stretched beyond all horizons. I was experiencing mild versions of much stronger emotions: depression, wild anger, and...calm. In front of me was a pile of corpses, and I had felt faint when I recognized a few faces that were now mangled and bloody: Felictia, Penelo, Vaan, Fran..._

_But someone was holding my hand._

_I looked up and saw it was Balthier. An acidic feeling crept up my throat as I realized I was holding hands with a sky pirate. All the same, I was terrified at the thought of letting go; it was the only thing I had to hold onto. But he was smiling. It didn't have a sharp edge of amusement or determination or...anything. It was just a smile, reassurring somewhat. And then he spoke, his voice echoing and sounding far away._

_"The war is over. We can have peace and harmony at last. We can have silence."_

_Then he let go. He began to walk away. I wanted to call out to him, to _make _him come back, but I couldn't. I seemed frozen in place, except for my eyes, which watched him go. He was walking, slowly, leisurely, strolling almost, and even though the island never stretched, he walked farther and farther away, never touching the water. I realized the serene water was littered with floating Angel feathers._

_A horrible quiet fell. I wanted to shriek out, stop the silence that tore viciously at my heart, ripping it to shreds. _This isn't peace and harmony, _I thought desperately. _This is never-ending silence, never again to be glowing from laughter or burning from rage. Never again to feel anything.

_And that was worse than the deepest fiery pits of Hell._

I couldn't help myself anymore. That dream was too horrible to bear. Its terrible stillness, never moving, not even a breath of wind to shatter the illusion of calm...worse than anything I could imagine. If I were never to speak again, and be all alone...I would rather be dead.

It wasn't a dream. It was a _nightmare._

I cracked my eyes open slightly. Balthier was pretending to clean his fingernails, and I almost snorted skeptically. I knew he was really watching for movement. I rolled onto my back and fluidly rose to my feet, graceful even when a headache was pounding a tattoo to my skull.

I staggered slightly as I got to my feet, and suddenly I slipped, and as the ground came up beneath me, I threw out my right arm to stabalize me--

--and cried out in pain.

I thumped down onto the ground. I ferociously opened up my bandage, and to my utter shock, the wound was still there.

_It should've healed, _I thought, fighting the sight in front of my disbelieving eyes. _White Angel powers do that._

A thought haunted me, and I pushed it away, slightly irritated.

I wrapped up the burn again, then undid it again. My hair was feeling filthy, so I tore off a strip, then retied the bandage. I tied up my long black hair, except for the bangs that fell over my left eye. Those would stay. I got to my feet again, and said to Balthier, "I'm leaving. If you want me, shout, though I doubt I'll answer."

I stalked out of the room, Balthier's amusement bouncing off me.

I reached the main room just in time to hear a shout from a familiar boy's voice.

"No, don't!"

It sounded like trouble to me. I raced over to Vaan, and saw what had upset him so. My stomach curled in disgust, and bile rose up in my throat. Two menacing Seeqs were crouched over a dead Bangaa's body, and I felt a pang of hatred, as well as being stricken.

"He was defenseless..." Vaan continued, trailing off, as he noticed the Seeqs coming closer, slowly, stealthily.

I immediately groped for my dagger, only to find it wasn't there. Of course, they would've unarmed us. I got into my fighting stance anyway, and glanced up slightly.

An unpleasant sight reached my vision. "Look out!" I cried out.

A moment too late.

A Seeq had been hurtling down towards us, and a split second after I called out, the Seeq came crashing down upon us, and we collapsed.

_Damn, _was my last conscious thought.

Then I fell into the familiar blackness of unconsciousness for the second time that day.

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**I got this chappie done as fast as I could so to make up for the long period between chapters six & seven. But don't be expecting another chapter so soon, okay?**

**Man, poor Rei. Getting knocked unconscious twice a day!**

**Review, please! Flames will be ignored. Even though I probably deserve them.**

**Amy (WinterLoveSong)**


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